As we continue to grow HereCast into an information resource for local communities, we’d like to offer some of our thoughts about how HereCast fits into the overall online content ecosystem.
First of all, we’re not a news organization. We have no editorial staff or reporters and we don’t assign or approve stories before they are published.
Second, we designed our platform to allow existing local news organizations, freelancers and and any other locals who care about their community to share their updates and perspectives. We are complementary to other sources of information, and ownership of the content remains with the contributors. If local news organizations want to distribute any or all of their stories on our platform, they can get paid for their content and build awareness and readership.
Finally, the HereCast experience will be defined by you and the people around you. We rely on the individuals and organizations in each community to help define what is interesting and important to them based on how they use the site. Much like walking up to a public bulletin board in the middle of town, we hope to see a diverse collection of content made readily available to browse for any location. Some posts are going to be professionally written, highly relevant and extremely interesting, while others may seem incomplete or unnecessary. Your participation will influence how it is used.
We have a lot of work ahead of us to continue our expansion, and we hope that you will join us and give us your feedback so we can best serve the needs of locals.